The Vulture Conservation Breeding Programme is a multi-institutional effort by India's state forest departments, in partnership with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), to rebuild the country's collapsed vulture populations through captive breeding and scientific release.

Basic Details

  • Run by: State Forest Departments in partnership with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), under the SAVE (Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction) consortium.
  • Species Covered: Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis), and Indian/Long-billed Vulture (Gyps indicus) — all listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
  • Key Centres: Vulture Conservation Breeding Centres at Pinjore (Haryana), Rani (Assam), Rajabhatkhawa (West Bengal), and Junagadh (Gujarat); release sites include the Jatayu Soft Release Centre at Tewaripal, Assam.
  • Trigger for Decline: Mass poisoning from veterinary Diclofenac, which causes fatal kidney failure in vultures that feed on treated carcasses.

Key Features

  • Diclofenac Ban: India banned veterinary use of Diclofenac in 2006, followed by bans on other vulture-toxic NSAIDs such as Aceclofenac and Ketoprofen in later years.
  • Captive Breeding: Breeding centres maintain founder populations of each species and breed chicks in controlled, contamination-free conditions.
  • Soft Release Method: Before release, birds spend an acclimatisation period — typically about three months — in a release aviary at the actual release site, adjusting to local conditions before being set free, unlike direct 'hard release.'
  • Satellite Tracking: Released birds are fitted with GSM-GPS satellite transmitters, letting scientists monitor survival, movement, and feeding behaviour after release.

Significance

  • Ecosystem Service: Vultures are nature's principal scavengers; their disappearance let carcasses rot in the open, aiding the spread of rabies and other diseases through feral dog populations.
  • World-First Milestones: The August 2026 Assam release included the first-ever release of captive-bred Slender-billed Vultures into the wild anywhere in the world.
  • Conservation Model: The programme is a global reference case for recovering a Critically Endangered species from near-total population collapse through coordinated ex-situ breeding and monitored release.